The first ten residents moved into the city’s newest affordable rental housing project on Friday in Ewa Beach.

West Loch Modular Housing is for people at or below 50% of the area median income. For a single person, that threshold is about $42,000 a year.

The building has three floors with 58 studio units, all of which have been filled. As many as three people can live in each unit. The units are equipped with a small refrigerator and a two-burner stove. A full kitchen, dining room and laundry facility are shared by the residents on the bottom floor.

Demand for the units has been so high that there is a 15-person-long waiting list.

Residents pay about $800 a month, which covers utilities, including electricity.

“I am ecstatic, super, super excited,” said Candelera Santana, who was moving into one of the units on the third floor with her 16-month-old son, Reign Joseph.

She applied for the unit March 25, but before then had been staying with friends. Her new apartment in West Loch Modular will be the first time she and her child will have their own place.

“It’s very nice to see something come to fruition,” Mayor Rick Blangiardi said.

West Loch Modular was briefly used as a COVID-19 isolation facility at the height of the omicron variant wave of infections in February. However, only about 12 people used the facility before it was closed March 1.

Construction for West Loch Modular broke ground in July 2020. It was built under Gov. David Ige’s emergency proclamation related to homelessness. This allowed the developers T. Iida Contracting, Group 70 and SSFM to expedite the process through building waivers and exemptions.

The city’s Bill 7 — a five-year affordable- housing pilot program — was not used to construct the project. The pilot began in 2019 and offers incentives such as a 10-year property tax waiver and wastewater connections for affordable-housing developments. Since then, in an effort to entice more affordable-housing developments, the city has also implemented a grant incentive program.

For developments renting to households above 60% of the average median income, the incentive in the building permit would be $11.25 per square foot of living space but would not exceed $9,000.

Blangiardi has said that addressing homelessness and increasing affordable housing options are top priorities for his administration. West Loch Modular Housing adds to the city’s portfolio of housing options.

“This project is a prime example of the much-needed innovative solutions to create more affordable housing for individuals and families on O‘ahu,” Blangiardi said in a statement.

“Creating truly affordable housing and ensuring local people can live in this place where they were born and raised requires this type of teamwork and innovation.”